California Senators
It's extremely important to know who represents us in the Senate. California has a very unique situation in which we have two female senators, meaning 100% of the senators from California are women. I have done research to find the biographies of two senators which you will find below:
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
A forceful advocate for families, children, consumers, the environment, and her State of California, Barbara Boxer became a United States Senator in January 1993 after 10 years of service in the House of Representatives. Elected to a third term in 2004, she received more than 6.9 million votes, the highest total for any Senate candidate in American history.
A champion of quality public education, Senator Boxer wrote landmark legislation establishing the first-ever federal funding for afterschool programs. With her leadership, support for afterschool has risen dramatically. The first federal appropriation for afterschool programs was in fiscal year 1995 – for $750,000. Over the next eight years, funding increased to reach $1 billion per year, covering 1.4 million children. She is now pushing for coverage of 3.5 million children by 2007.
A strong proponent of medical research to find cures for diseases, Senator Boxer is part of a coalition to increase that critical effort. She wrote bipartisan legislation to accelerate America’s contribution to combat global HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. As one of the first in Congress to recognize HMO abuses, she authored a Patients’ Bill of Rights in 1997 and continues to fight for these much-needed protections and for affordable health care. She wrote a bill to make health insurance tax deductible and another bill to let any American buy into the same health insurance program that members of Congress have. She supports revision of the current prescription drug coverage program to make it accessible through Medicare and the right of all consumers to purchase lower-cost prescription drugs reimported from Canada.
The Senate’s leading defender of a woman’s right to choose, Senator Boxer authored the Freedom of Choice Act of 2004 and helped lead the floor fight for passage of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. She is now leading efforts to stop extremists in Congress from weakening a woman’s Constitutional right to choose.
Senator Boxer has won numerous awards for her efforts to create a cleaner, healthier environment. She authored the amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act to ensure that drinking water standards are set to protect children and other vulnerable populations. She has been a leader in the fight to remove arsenic from drinking water, block oil drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge and along California’s coast, stop the use of human subjects in pesticide testing, and revitalize the Superfund by making polluters – not taxpayers – pay to clean up the toxic waste they leave behind.
Senator Boxer has worked to preserve the safety net for older Americans. She introduced the 401(k) Pension Protection Act to protect workers’ retirement nest eggs by requiring the diversification of 401(k) plans; a modified version of her bill was signed into law as part of the 1997 tax bill. This work set the stage for her active involvement in preserving Social Security.
Senator Boxer has worked to pass targeted tax cuts to help revitalize the economy. She supports a permanent Research and Development tax credit, accelerated depreciation of new business equipment, and a 20% tax credit for broadband investments focused on rural and underserved areas. Along with Senator John Ensign (R-NV), she co-authored the bipartisan Invest in the USA Act to reduce the tax on profits earned abroad by U.S. companies if those profits are invested in creating American jobs. In the 11 months following its passage, the Invest in the USA Act was credited with bringing more than $275 billion in foreign earnings by 500 American companies back to the United States.
Senator Boxer joined colleagues to pass the 1994 Crime Bill, which led to the lowest crime rate in 25 years. She strongly supports a ban on cop-killer bullets and authored legislation to require child safety locks on guns. Her bill to prevent the criminal use of personal information obtained through motor vehicle records was signed into law and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. She also authored the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) while serving in the House and helped steer it through the Senate; it too is now law. She has authored the Violence Against Children Act, based on the successful VAWA.
In response to the September 11th attacks, Senator Boxer authored a bill to protect commercial airliners against attacks by shoulder-fired missiles, and she wrote the law allowing airline pilots with special training to carry guns in the cockpit. She wrote the law to ensure that air marshals would be on board high-risk flights. She has also authored legislation on port security, rail security, and providing assistance to first responders.
Senator Boxer serves on the Senate Committees on Commerce, Foreign Relations, and Environment and Public Works, is the Democratic Chief Deputy Whip, and serves on the Democratic Policy Committee’s Committee on Oversight and Investigations. She has been married to Stewart Boxer for 44 years, and they have two children, a daughter-in-law, and a 10-year-old grandson.
U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein
As California's senior Senator, Dianne Feinstein has built a reputation as an independent voice, working with both Democrats and Republicans to find common-sense solutions to the problems facing California and the Nation.
Since her election to the Senate 1992, Senator Feinstein has worked in a bipartisan way to build a significant record of legislative accomplishments helping strengthen the nation's security both here and abroad, combat crime and violence, battle cancer, protect natural resources and secure millions in appropriations for Californians.
Senator Feinstein serves on the Judiciary Committee, where she is the ranking member of the Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security Subcommittee; the Appropriations Committee, where she is the Ranking member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee; the Energy and Natural Resources Committee; the Select Committee on Intelligence; Homeland Security Subcommittee of Appropriations and the Rules and Administration Committee.
Awards Received by
Senator Feinstein
Judiciary Committee
Ranking member of the Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security Subcommittee
Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship
Subcommittee
Crime, Corrections and Victims Rights Subcommittee
Appropriations Committee
Ranking member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee
Energy and Water Development Subcommittee
Agriculture Subcommittee
Interior Subcommittee
Defense Subcommittee
Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Water and Power Subcommittee
Forests and Public Land Management Subcommittee
Intelligence Committee
Rules and Administration Committee
She is also vice-chair of C-Change: Collaborating to Conquer Cancer, Chair of the Senate Cancer Coalition and the lead sponsor of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp, which has raised more than $40 million for breast cancer research.
Some of the most noteworthy accomplishments by Senator Feinstein include:
• California Desert Protection - Protecting more than 7 million acres of pristine California desert -- the largest such designation in the history of the continental United States.
• Calfed - Authorizing $395 million for a balanced program to increase California's water supply, reliability and quality and help restore sensitive water ecosystems.
• Healthy Forests - Reducing the risk of catastrophic fire in our forests by expediting the thinning of hazardous fuels and providing the first legal protection for old-growth forests in our nation's history.
• Lake Tahoe Restoration - Preserving and restoring this treasured natural resource by authorizing $300 million in federal funds over 10 years to match investments by the States of California and Nevada and local authorities.
• Headwaters Forest Agreement - Obtaining funding and brokering agreement to save the "Headwaters Forest," a 7,500 acre national treasure and the largest privately held stand of uncut old-growth redwoods.
• San Francisco Bay Wetlands Restoration - Negotiating public-private purchase of 16,500 acres of salt ponds along the San Francisco Bay - the largest such wetlands restoration project in California history.
• Border Security and Visa Entry Reform - Helping prevent terrorists from entering the United States through loopholes in our immigration system.
• Crime Victims Rights - Giving victims of violent crime a core set of procedural rights under federal law and ensuring that they have standing to assert their rights before a court.
• Assault Weapons Ban - Prohibiting the manufacture and sale of 19 types of military-style assault weapons from 1994-2004.
Senator Feinstein's career has been one of firsts – she was the first woman President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the first woman Mayor of San Francisco, the first woman elected Senator of California and the first woman member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A native of San Francisco, she was elected to the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors in 1969 and served 2 ½ terms as President of the Board. She became Mayor of San Francisco in November 1978 following the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.
The following year she was elected to the first of two four-year terms. As Mayor, Dianne Feinstein managed the City's finances with a firm hand, balancing nine budgets in a row. In 1987, City and State Magazine named her the nation's "Most Effective Mayor."
As a Senator, Dianne Feinstein has received a number of awards for her service, including the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service in 2001, which is given to individuals who have served with distinction in public life and have shown a special commitment to seeking out informed opinions and thoughtful views, and she was the first recipient of American Cancer Society's new National Distinguished Advocacy Award in 2004 in recognition of her outstanding leadership on cancer issues in the public policy arena.
http://feinstein.senate.gov/biography.html
http://boxer.senate.gov/about/bio/index.cfm
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
A forceful advocate for families, children, consumers, the environment, and her State of California, Barbara Boxer became a United States Senator in January 1993 after 10 years of service in the House of Representatives. Elected to a third term in 2004, she received more than 6.9 million votes, the highest total for any Senate candidate in American history.
A champion of quality public education, Senator Boxer wrote landmark legislation establishing the first-ever federal funding for afterschool programs. With her leadership, support for afterschool has risen dramatically. The first federal appropriation for afterschool programs was in fiscal year 1995 – for $750,000. Over the next eight years, funding increased to reach $1 billion per year, covering 1.4 million children. She is now pushing for coverage of 3.5 million children by 2007.
A strong proponent of medical research to find cures for diseases, Senator Boxer is part of a coalition to increase that critical effort. She wrote bipartisan legislation to accelerate America’s contribution to combat global HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. As one of the first in Congress to recognize HMO abuses, she authored a Patients’ Bill of Rights in 1997 and continues to fight for these much-needed protections and for affordable health care. She wrote a bill to make health insurance tax deductible and another bill to let any American buy into the same health insurance program that members of Congress have. She supports revision of the current prescription drug coverage program to make it accessible through Medicare and the right of all consumers to purchase lower-cost prescription drugs reimported from Canada.
The Senate’s leading defender of a woman’s right to choose, Senator Boxer authored the Freedom of Choice Act of 2004 and helped lead the floor fight for passage of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. She is now leading efforts to stop extremists in Congress from weakening a woman’s Constitutional right to choose.
Senator Boxer has won numerous awards for her efforts to create a cleaner, healthier environment. She authored the amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act to ensure that drinking water standards are set to protect children and other vulnerable populations. She has been a leader in the fight to remove arsenic from drinking water, block oil drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge and along California’s coast, stop the use of human subjects in pesticide testing, and revitalize the Superfund by making polluters – not taxpayers – pay to clean up the toxic waste they leave behind.
Senator Boxer has worked to preserve the safety net for older Americans. She introduced the 401(k) Pension Protection Act to protect workers’ retirement nest eggs by requiring the diversification of 401(k) plans; a modified version of her bill was signed into law as part of the 1997 tax bill. This work set the stage for her active involvement in preserving Social Security.
Senator Boxer has worked to pass targeted tax cuts to help revitalize the economy. She supports a permanent Research and Development tax credit, accelerated depreciation of new business equipment, and a 20% tax credit for broadband investments focused on rural and underserved areas. Along with Senator John Ensign (R-NV), she co-authored the bipartisan Invest in the USA Act to reduce the tax on profits earned abroad by U.S. companies if those profits are invested in creating American jobs. In the 11 months following its passage, the Invest in the USA Act was credited with bringing more than $275 billion in foreign earnings by 500 American companies back to the United States.
Senator Boxer joined colleagues to pass the 1994 Crime Bill, which led to the lowest crime rate in 25 years. She strongly supports a ban on cop-killer bullets and authored legislation to require child safety locks on guns. Her bill to prevent the criminal use of personal information obtained through motor vehicle records was signed into law and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. She also authored the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) while serving in the House and helped steer it through the Senate; it too is now law. She has authored the Violence Against Children Act, based on the successful VAWA.
In response to the September 11th attacks, Senator Boxer authored a bill to protect commercial airliners against attacks by shoulder-fired missiles, and she wrote the law allowing airline pilots with special training to carry guns in the cockpit. She wrote the law to ensure that air marshals would be on board high-risk flights. She has also authored legislation on port security, rail security, and providing assistance to first responders.
Senator Boxer serves on the Senate Committees on Commerce, Foreign Relations, and Environment and Public Works, is the Democratic Chief Deputy Whip, and serves on the Democratic Policy Committee’s Committee on Oversight and Investigations. She has been married to Stewart Boxer for 44 years, and they have two children, a daughter-in-law, and a 10-year-old grandson.
U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein
As California's senior Senator, Dianne Feinstein has built a reputation as an independent voice, working with both Democrats and Republicans to find common-sense solutions to the problems facing California and the Nation.
Since her election to the Senate 1992, Senator Feinstein has worked in a bipartisan way to build a significant record of legislative accomplishments helping strengthen the nation's security both here and abroad, combat crime and violence, battle cancer, protect natural resources and secure millions in appropriations for Californians.
Senator Feinstein serves on the Judiciary Committee, where she is the ranking member of the Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security Subcommittee; the Appropriations Committee, where she is the Ranking member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee; the Energy and Natural Resources Committee; the Select Committee on Intelligence; Homeland Security Subcommittee of Appropriations and the Rules and Administration Committee.
Awards Received by
Senator Feinstein
Judiciary Committee
Ranking member of the Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security Subcommittee
Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship
Subcommittee
Crime, Corrections and Victims Rights Subcommittee
Appropriations Committee
Ranking member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee
Energy and Water Development Subcommittee
Agriculture Subcommittee
Interior Subcommittee
Defense Subcommittee
Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Water and Power Subcommittee
Forests and Public Land Management Subcommittee
Intelligence Committee
Rules and Administration Committee
She is also vice-chair of C-Change: Collaborating to Conquer Cancer, Chair of the Senate Cancer Coalition and the lead sponsor of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp, which has raised more than $40 million for breast cancer research.
Some of the most noteworthy accomplishments by Senator Feinstein include:
• California Desert Protection - Protecting more than 7 million acres of pristine California desert -- the largest such designation in the history of the continental United States.
• Calfed - Authorizing $395 million for a balanced program to increase California's water supply, reliability and quality and help restore sensitive water ecosystems.
• Healthy Forests - Reducing the risk of catastrophic fire in our forests by expediting the thinning of hazardous fuels and providing the first legal protection for old-growth forests in our nation's history.
• Lake Tahoe Restoration - Preserving and restoring this treasured natural resource by authorizing $300 million in federal funds over 10 years to match investments by the States of California and Nevada and local authorities.
• Headwaters Forest Agreement - Obtaining funding and brokering agreement to save the "Headwaters Forest," a 7,500 acre national treasure and the largest privately held stand of uncut old-growth redwoods.
• San Francisco Bay Wetlands Restoration - Negotiating public-private purchase of 16,500 acres of salt ponds along the San Francisco Bay - the largest such wetlands restoration project in California history.
• Border Security and Visa Entry Reform - Helping prevent terrorists from entering the United States through loopholes in our immigration system.
• Crime Victims Rights - Giving victims of violent crime a core set of procedural rights under federal law and ensuring that they have standing to assert their rights before a court.
• Assault Weapons Ban - Prohibiting the manufacture and sale of 19 types of military-style assault weapons from 1994-2004.
Senator Feinstein's career has been one of firsts – she was the first woman President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the first woman Mayor of San Francisco, the first woman elected Senator of California and the first woman member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A native of San Francisco, she was elected to the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors in 1969 and served 2 ½ terms as President of the Board. She became Mayor of San Francisco in November 1978 following the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.
The following year she was elected to the first of two four-year terms. As Mayor, Dianne Feinstein managed the City's finances with a firm hand, balancing nine budgets in a row. In 1987, City and State Magazine named her the nation's "Most Effective Mayor."
As a Senator, Dianne Feinstein has received a number of awards for her service, including the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service in 2001, which is given to individuals who have served with distinction in public life and have shown a special commitment to seeking out informed opinions and thoughtful views, and she was the first recipient of American Cancer Society's new National Distinguished Advocacy Award in 2004 in recognition of her outstanding leadership on cancer issues in the public policy arena.
http://feinstein.senate.gov/biography.html
http://boxer.senate.gov/about/bio/index.cfm
posted by c.bellardo @ 5:27 PM
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